Signal



Feb. 12 1924.

A. w. HARVEY' S I GNAL Filed Oct. 19. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l yeolzy'z.

LJLIILJLJLJ Feb. i2 1924. v 1,483,511

A. HARVEY SIGNAL Filed Oct. 19, 1923 2 She ets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 12, 1924.

ALBERT WADKINS HARVEY, OF SULPHUR SPRINGS, TEXAS.

SIGNAL.

Application filed October 19, 1923. Serial No. 669,540.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT W. HARVEY, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Sulphur Springs, in the county of Hopkins and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Signals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to signals for traflic at railway crossings, and has for an object the provision of novel means whereby an audible signal may be made; and the said invention furthermore contemplates the provision of a visual signal adapted to be in termittently changed during the soundin of the audible signal so that the visual signa will have a flash appearance, changing from one color to another, according to the operation of a shield or lens with respect to the lens of the lamp for producing the visual signal. I

It is a further object of this invention to produce novel means for communicating the motion of car wheels to the signals, the said last mentioned means being of strong and durable construction which will withstand the impact and jar incident to the contact of the wheels with the operating mechanism.

The invention furthermore contemplates the provision of means whereby the signaling mechanism may be operated from a distance in order that sufficient warning may be given of the approach of the car which is relied upon to operate the signal.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 illustrates a plan view of a fragment of a railway showing a device embodying the invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 illustrates an enlarged detail view of the wheel operated mechanism;

Figure 3 illustrates a sectional View on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;"

Figure 4 illustrates a view in elevation of the semaphore and signaling mechanism;

Figure 5 illustrates a View in elevation of (fi he edge thereof showing parts in section; an

Figure 6 illustrates an enlarged detail view of the semaphore and signal operating means.

In these drawings 10 denotes a suitable bracket or frame that is to be anchored on cross ties or the like in any suitable manner in proximity to a rail 11. The base frame has a flange 12 with a pivot 13 on which a lever 14 is oscillatable, the lever extending above and below the base, as shown. An arm 15 is attached to the lever near its upper end and the said arm projects toward and terminates in proximity to the head of the rail 11 and in such position that the flanges of the wheels of a car will strike the arm. The lever 14 has a stud 16 projecting from its inner face on which an anti-friction roller 17 is rotatable, and this anti-friction roller is engaged by a spring 18 preferably of the construction shown. The spring is bow shape, as in this embodiment of the invention, and it has its ends 19 suitably supported on the base, whereas the mediate portion thereof extends under the anti-friction roller and the spring is operative to restore the parts to the neutral positions in which they are shown in Fig. 2. After the lever has been disturbed or rocked by the action of a wheel, the spring will serve to restore it to the position shown in Fig. 2, and hence the operation will be repeated as each wheel travels over the lever. Of course the spring 18 must be relatively strong in order that it will quickly restore the position of the lever, as the car wheels are close together and hence quick action will be necessary.

The lower end of the lever has an arm 20 connected to it and a cable 21 leads from this arm over suitable sheave pulleys such as 22 and 23 to the signaling apparatus. Any suitable means, of course, may be provided for guiding the cables in order that they will not develop unusual or unnecessary friction, and the cables may be connected to a chain or flexible element 24 guided in a tube or conduit 25 extending laterally of the track to the semaphore standard 26. The chain or flexible member 2i may be guided vertically in the standard over suitable rollers 27, and the upper end of said chain or flexible member is connected to a sprocket chain .28.

A sprocket wheel 29 is secured on a shaft 30 journaled in the standard and the sprocket chain extends over and engages the said sprocket wheel. The end of the sprocket wheel remote from the cable or flexible connection has a spring 31 connected to it, and the said spring is anchored in any appropriate way to the standard as by the element 82.

It will be obvious from an inspection of the drawing and from the description thus far that if a pull is exerted on the chain or flexible member, it- Will draw the sprocket chain downwardly against the action of the spring 31, and the spring ill will exert a pull to move the sprocket chain in the opposite direction so that there wlll be an intermittent movement of the sprocket chain in two directions, according to the force ex erted.

Another sprocket wheel is arranged on the shaft 30 and this sprocket wheel is engaged by a sprocket chain 3i that operates over a sprocket wheel on the shaft 36. The sprocket wheel 35 is associated with or has connected to it the arms 37 of a bell clapper and these arms have wheels 38 on their outer ends that are loosely connected to the said arms. The bell proper comprises a shell 39 that is secured on a stud l0, it being seen that the arms 37 rotate within the bell. The bell is preferably provided with a plurality of lugs ll on its inner surface and the bell clapper strikes the lugs in sounding the alarm.

The semaphore standard may have a lamp l2 stationed at openings and Js-l and the openings may have appropriately colored lenses. It is the object of the inirntor, however, to change the li l ti g as the alarm is sounded to produce a flickering effect which will more readily catch the i of the [H30- plc to be warned. To that end, the shaft il may have arms t3 secured on it at its end and these arms will extend dew wardly and they may be provided with lenses or shields 46 which will be carried across the lenses of the lamp, either to change the color of the light, or they may act as shutters to intermittently obstruct the light, according to the requirements or desires of the user, but it will be apparent that the audible nail and the means for changing the visual signal will be operated siii'iultaneously during the movement of the sprocket chain The shaft 30 also carries the semaphore arms A which are oscillated from the full line to the dotted line positions approximately as shown in Fig. at, and they constitute a further visual signal which can be observed when the lamp is not lighted. The

degree of oscillation will, of course, depend upon the motion imparted to it through the movement of the sprocket chain 28.

I claim:

1. A member adapted to be secured to the side of a railway track, a lever oscillatably mounted thereon, an arm on the lever projecting into proximity to one of the rails of a track, a flexible element connected mediately to the opposite end of the said lever, means for holding the lever in normal posi tion, a semaphore stand, a shaft journaled therein, wheels on the said shaft, a. flexible element operating over one of the wheels on which the first mentioned flexible member exerts a pull, a spring acting on the Second mentioned flexible member against the pull of the first mentioned flexible mem ber, semaphore arms on the shaft, a bell stationed on the said stand, the said bell having lugs on its inner surface adapted to be struck by a clapper, a shaft rotatable centrally of the bell, arms on the shaft having clapper-s thereon, a wheel on the said shaft, a flexible member operating over a wheel of the first mentioned shaft and the wheel of the second mentioned shaft, a signal lamp having lenses, and means carried by the first mentioned shaft in position to pass the lenses of the lamp, substantially as described.

12. In a signal, mechanism adapted to be operated by the wheels of a car, a semaphore stand having a shaft journaled therein, a sprocket wheel on the said shaft, a sprocket chain operating over the said wheel, means for communicating the motion of the wheel operated mechanism to the said sprocket chain, a spring for resisting the action of the wheel operated mechanism and for returning the sprocket to normal position, a bell having clapper engaging lugs, a shaft, clapper arms on the shaft, clappers on the ends of the arms adapted to strike the lugs of the .bell, means for communicating the motion of the first mentioned shaft to the second mentioned shaft, a lamp having lenses, and means connected to the first mentioned shaft for intermittently interrupting the ligl'it from the lamp.

In a signal, mechanism adapted to be operated by the wheels of a car, a semaphore stand having a shaft journaled therein, a sprocket wheel on the said shaft, a sprocket chain operating over the said wheel, means for communicating the motion of the wheel operated mechanism to the said sprocket chain, a spring for resisting the action of the wheel opt 'ated mechanism and for returning the sprocket to normal position, a bell having clapper engaging lugs, a shaft. clapper arms on the shaft, clappers on the ends of the arms adapted to strike the lugs of the bell, means for communicating the motion of the first mentioned shaft to the arms on the said first mentioned shaft.

4. In a signal, a semaphore stand, a bell stationed thereon, a shaft rotatable in the axis of the bell, arms on the shaft having clappers adapted to strike the bell, means 10 for rotating the shaft through the action of the wheels of a car on a track, a lamp on the semaphore stand, shields provided with means for their oscillation with respect to the lamp whereby the lamp is intermittently obstructed from view, and semaphore arms oscillatably mounted and actuated from the initial source of power, substantially as described.

ALBERT WADKIINS HARVEY. 

